


Where you lead, I will follow

by orphan_account



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Airlines AU, F/F, Multi, chrislex, krashlyn - Freeform, so'hara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 00:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11817732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Alex Morgan is a flight attendant with an ax to grind with co-pilot Christen Press, who she hates for stealing her ex. Christen feels guilty and wants to make amends, but Alex won't even give her the time of day. Kelley O'Hara is a new Air Marshal eager to prove herself as more than a college dropout, while Ashlyn is a senior Air Marshall with a military past that has fucked her up. Ali Krieger is a grumpy veteran stewardess, who would just like to go home to her own bed and sleep. Captain Emily Sonnet just wants her crew to get along and decides that she is going to take them on an adventure, and force them to do team bonding because they're all far too grumpy for Sonny's taste.Will Emily's plan prevail, or is everybody just too broken and fucked up to actually learn to heal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this airlines/road trip sort of alternate universe has been in my mind for close to two months now. So I decided to write it. I figure it would be something to write when I have free time, so I may not be able to promise frequent updates, but hopefully, the ride will be worth it. Also, this is totally a Chrislex, Krashlyn, and So'Hara story. They are the main three pairings, other uswnt members might pop up, but for the most part, it's just about those three couples. Also, I love Tobin so any Tobin-bashing is not meant to be all that malicious, it's just to set up Chrislex. 
> 
> Hopefully, you all like the story.  
> Safe travels my nerds.  
> -Becks. 
> 
> P.S. this is for my friend Erin, follow Erin on tumblr at k0hara5

“You have got to be kidding me, you’re on the flight too? This is going to be so cool man! It’s great to see you again Ali!” 

Ali Krieger wanted a peaceful flight, more than that however she wanted to not waste her last ten minutes of free time chatting. Ali knew she would have to spend close to the next three hours on her feet, trapped in a plane with high heels, and grumpy travelers. It was mid-September and yet people were still always taking vacations. It was always time to party somewhere in the world, at least that's what it seemed like to Ali. 

Turning to glance over her shoulder, she forced a polite yet tight lipped smile on her face. She had to hand it to Emily Sonnett, the girl was hyper and young, but she was still one of the best pilots in the business. Ali had to admire the girl's dedicated and upbeat demeanor even if it did become a little grating on the nerves after a while. 

Emily was a young one, but she had spent a lot of time practicing her flights and was eager to prove herself. Plus she always seemed to have that dopey smile on her face, and even though Ali was annoyed at having her last few minutes of free time interrupted it was extremely hard to stay mad at the girl. 

Everybody had affectionately dubbed Emily as Sonny, because of her last name but also because of the girl’s sunshiny disposition. The girl was an eleven on the happy scale, always full of kind words and jokes. Ali had been on the receiving end of the megawatt smile Sonny displayed, and it had always drawn at least a small grin out of Ali even at her grumpiest. 

“I can’t believe I get to fly today, you know Press is on this flight too. She’s my co-pilot, I always love flying with her.” Emily continued on, ever so excited. The girl was a ball of energy and if Ali wasn’t already tired, she’d feel tired just wanting the girl bounce. 

Ali did feel better knowing that Christen Press was on the flight though, she knew that the older pilot would keep Emily from making silly errors. Plus Press had always been kind to her, unlike the other pilots who would hit on her and make lewd comments. 

“Do you know who the other stewardess is?” Ali asked, mentally cursing herself out for not having checked the schedule. In her defense, she had taken a long flight from Chicago to Dallas, and then to Atlanta the night prior and she was exhausted. She was ready to catch the flight back to Washington DC and head home. 

“Oh I believe it’s Alex Morgan,” Sonny answered, chewing her bottom lip. “Press and I are in the cockpit, you and Alex are the flight attendants. I know there are one or two other people helping you since it’s a short flight. I heard there might be a Flight Marshall on the flight today. I don’t know who they are, you know how they like to have undercover flight marshals.” 

The flight attendant only hummed softly in response. The company typically placed one or two air marshals on flights, typically dressed in civilian clothes and undercover so they could keep a watch on the plane. It was supposed to provide a sense of security for the flight personnel as well as the other passengers. 

“Well, I should probably get ready to go and prepare for the flight. You’ll be okay right?” Emily asked, looking over the tired flight attendant. Emily cared for her friend and that showed through the concerned look on her face.

Ali nodded her head, and waved her off She had been doing this job for almost seven years now, she was used to the wear and tear of travel. Still, she wasn’t always thrilled to have to deal with handsy business men who liked to try and grab at her skirt. It pissed her off a lot, but she always managed to keep smiling even if it was a forced grimace. 

She watched as Emily left, and stood to her feet wanting to enjoy stretching out her tired muscles before she had to go stand for the next few hours. She headed to the departure gate, just wanting to get this flight over with. Her bed was calling to her, and she was ready to just be back on familiar ground. 

\---  
Emily headed to the cockpit of the plane, wanting to do some last minute checks. She was surprised or well maybe not all that surprised, to find her co-pilot Christen Press, already doing the checks. 

“You know sometimes I think you just live on these planes.” Emily mused, giving her friend a smile. 

Christen shrugged as she continued to check all of their equipment. “Flying is freeing, and besides two eyes doing the checks is better than one. I wanted to be helpful.” Christen replied casually, before sitting down and buckling up.

“Are you trying to be helpful or are you hiding?” Emily asked, fixing Christen with a look that was all to knowing and made Chris squirm uncomfortably.

“Alex is on this flight and she hates me. I didn’t know that she was with Tobin when I slept with T. If I had known that, I would never have done that to her.” Christen protested, averting her gaze from Emily. 

She hated that Alex had gotten hurt, but she hadn’t even really knew about the girl. That was until Alex had walked in on what Christen thought Tobin’s apartment and caught her and Tobin together. 

Christen still felt sick to her stomach as she recalled the way that Alex’s face crumpled, broken by Tobin’s betrayal. Even more, so Christen remembered how it felt to be shoved off of the bed by Tobin, who went groveling after Alex to beg and grovel for the girl to understand. 

Christen had felt so embarrassed and like an idiot. She had gotten dressed and let herself out, refusing to talk to Tobin whenever the TSA agent tried to talk to her. She couldn’t put up with the girl’s shit any longer.

Still, she had never spoken to Alex, she had tried once, but the girl had shot her down with the coldest glare Christen had ever received. So Christen did her best to stay out of the girl’s way.

“It’s been like six months, she can’t still be angry at you for that.” Emily felt bad for Christen, but she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Alex Morgan’s grudge. 

Christen sighed and shook her head. “I guess I should be lucky I am locked in the cockpit with you, she can’t exactly barge in her and hurt me now can she.” She wanted to make amends with Alex, but she knew it was best to just stay out of the way. 

Emily gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Well Krieger is on this flight as well, and you know she’ll keep Alex from doing anything too crazy.”

Christen did her best to give a smile, but it felt like a fake one. She had a feeling drama would follow her wherever she went with Alex Morgan.

\---

Kelley O’Hara was excited, to say the least for one of her first assignments. She had been told it was a solo assignment which was a big step for the girl. She was going to be the onboard Air Marshal, and since it was a simple routine flight, she had hopes that things would run smoothly. 

As she moved to sit among the passengers, she took careful stock of each person on board. There looked to be a few business men, a rather tanned woman with a nice wrist watch and multiple tattoos sitting halfway down the plane in aisle 18. Kelley sat in aisle five, choosing the outside seat so that she could keep a watchful eye on the cockpit and anybody that tried to get close. 

It had been a weird experience to go from a very promising career in athletics to be an Air Marshal. She had found out about the job and had gone for it, even helping secure her old college buddy an interview. Kelley had kept in contact with Christen and she had tried to be there for her when things went south with Tobin. 

Being an Air Marshal had given Kelley the discipline she needed though, she felt a lot more balanced and focused in her new career. Kelley had always been looking for a purpose and she felt like she had found it now. 

She watched as Alex Morgan and Ali Krieger both boarded the plane, they looked to be in a tense discussion with Alex shooting angry looks towards the cockpit. Ali gave a tight lipped smile and gestured for Alex to no doubt take the job of servicing the back half of the plane’s passengers. 

Kelley almost felt bad for Krieger, except the older flight attendant could be grumpy as hell. Kelley had heard enough horror stories about Ali snapping that she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a verbal beat down. 

Doing her best to relax as the air stewardess droned on about safety regulations and what to do in case of a water landing and if the cabin suddenly lost pressure. Kelley opened a book she had brought with her, deciding to crack it open and read. She wasn’t supposed to give herself away as an Air Marshall unless there was an issue.

Kelley was almost pretty determined for there not to be any issues. Little did she know that the world and a stupid passenger on the plane had other plans for her and the trip.  
\---  
Alex just wanted this trip to be over, knowing that Christen Press was on board really pissed her off. Logically she knew it wasn’t the pilot’s fault that Tobin had cheated on her, part of her couldn’t even really blame Tobin for choosing Press to do it with. However, it had wounded her to the core. 

Seeing Press’ face in her bed, being made love to by Tobin, it had pissed her off. Tobin had never made love to her, but what had made it worse, what had dug the knife in deeper was the way Christen’s face went from pleasure to pity.

The girl pitied her and Alex hated it. She wanted to punch the girl’s lights out and make the girl realize that she was Alex fucking Morgan and she didn’t need anybody feeling sorry for her. Alex had headed back to the airport with her luggage and had managed to get on two back to back flights, trying to get as far away from Tobin and Christen as she could. 

It was an hour into this plane trip and she was still pissed. She kept stealing glances towards the cockpit, the feeling of wanting to punch Christen’s lights out not leaving her. Though she knew her anger was misplaced, it wasn't like Christen had forced Tobin to cheat. It wasn't Christen's fault that she had left Alex feeling like she was nothing, but still, it burned Alex to even look Chris' way.

Alex wasn’t paying attention as she handed out the refreshments, she was halfway between aisles eighteen and five, around aisle 11. That ended up costing her as she felt a hand slip under her skirt and touch her ass. 

It lingered long enough for Alex to know it was no mistake. She turned to glare at the passenger, not the type to take being assaulted lightly. The assaulter looked to be a well-dressed business man, with an important looking briefcase.

“Excuse me, sir, please keep your hands to yourself,” Alex warned, irritated at the smug look on the business man’s face.  
“With the amount I have to pay for a seat on the piece of crap, I think I deserve a little extra. I mean I fly on these planes frequently enough.” The man growled, moving his hand around her ass. 

Alex couldn't help herself and quickly lashed out with her hand, hitting him right in the throat. “Don’t touch me.” She growled. 

Ali who had heard the commotion was not thrilled, she had just wanted one flight where guys weren’t total asshats. She tried to calm the rest of the passengers who were getting up to see what had happened. 

“Please remain seated,” Ali called, starting to make her way to the back when the man that Alex was dealing with got up and wrapped both hands around Alex’s neck, starting to choke her. Ali wasn’t about to let her friend be choked out. 

However, a brunette freckled face woman jumped up and flashed a badge at Ali. “Flight Marshall Kelley O’Hara. I got this, go make a call to the Cockpit and tell them we are going to be needing to make an emergency landing.” 

Kelley drew her firearm and pointed it at the man who was currently holding the air stewardess in a choke hold. “Please release the stewardess sir, and sit back down. There is no need for anybody to get hurt.” Kelley said calmly. 

The man turned Alex in his arms, getting her more in a sleeper hold so that he could snap her neck if he wanted to. He began to back towards the back of the plane, his grip on Alex tightening so much that she had started to turn a little bit. Her nails were scratching and clawing at the man, trying to fight for air. 

Kelley kept her weapon trained on the man. Just beyond the man in the eighteenth row a blonde woman stood up, Kelley recognized her as the woman with the expensive wristwatch and the many tattoos. 

Kelley was about to order the woman to sit down when the woman drew her own weapon. The man pulled out her badge and showed it to Kelley silently, the woman who Kelley now understood was also an Air Marshal, trained her weapon on the man as well.

“United States Senior Air Marshal Ashlyn Harris, sir release the woman,” Ashlyn growled, her tone commanding. She looked rather intimidating and Kelley was glad she was not on the receiving end of the woman’s wrath.

The man turned, glancing between the two Air Marshals. “I’ll snap her neck, I swear to god I’ll do it so easily.” He growled, clearly drunk. 

Alex was nobody’s victim and with a sharp elbow, nailed the guy in the ribs. She then stomped her foot on his ankle, ripping herself from his grasp. 

Two gun shots sounded, and the guy fell to the ground. Ashlyn Harris lowered her weapon and stared down at the man who was bleeding out. Air Marshals had to be trained in precision shooting and a double tap to the head had taken the man out. 

A lot of the passengers were freaking out, and Kelley did her best to calm them down along with Ali who was glaring at Ashlyn, not thrilled about the paperwork that was sure to follow. 

Ashlyn Meanwhile holstered her weapon and went to check on Alex, who was sporting some angry marks on her neck.

“That was very brave of you, but you could have endangered a lot of lives,” Ashlyn warned, her voice stern. She looked Alex over before ushering her to the back cabin area where she felt Alex would be safest to wait. 

Ashlyn stayed with the body of the deceased passenger until the plane landed and the police could detain everybody for questioning once they had disembarked from the plane. She had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

\---

Christen had been worried sick when she had heard about the passenger. Her pilot instincts had taken over as she helped Emily land the plane at the closest airport, which happened to be the one in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

The first thought in her mind as she landed the plane was that she hoped it wasn’t Alex who had been involved in the disturbance. But after they landed and the plane staff was sequestered in a lounge for interview by the Police and the TSA, she had learned that Alex was in fact involved.

She had tried to make eye contact with the girl, but Alex wouldn’t even look at her as she was taken into the interrogation room to tell her version of what has transpired. Christen sighed and buried her face in her hands unsure of what to do. 

“You know for being stranded in an airport, this isn’t half bad.” Emily mused, bouncing a little bit on the couch she was sitting on.

The lounge was comfortable and had a few couches for the staff to sleep on during breaks and long layovers, there were tvs, come computers, even a few vending machines. 

That didn't mean that Christen wanted to enjoy it, she wanted to make sure Alex was okay. She didn’t even know why she cared so much, maybe because she felt like she owed the girl one for blowing up her relationship with Tobin. 

“I would rather be stranded in my bed and not in this place,” Ali grumbled, pissed off that once again she was not at home. She wanted to just go home and sleep.”If somebody had done their job and detained the passenger instead of shooting them, we wouldn’t have to be here this long.” Ali glared at Ashlyn.

Ashlyn arched a brow and leaned forward in her seat. “Excuse me for trying to save the life of your fellow stewardess. I was protecting the public, I am sorry your plans got screwed over. I am sure whatever man you were going to fuck will reschedule.” Ashlyn fired back harshly. 

“You don’t know shit about me.” Ali spat, getting up ready to go. She was tired, grumpy and she had had a shit day. "Maybe I am not used to killing people every day and having them die in front of me."

Kelley cleared her throat, not wanting anybody to come to blows. “Why don’t we all just sit quietly, hmm? It looks suspicious if we’re talking to each other. Let’s just relax.” She didn’t like the tension and wanted to ease it. 

Kelley got up and went to make herself some coffee. She knew that Christen probably needed a cup too, after the shaky incident. She didn’t want the girl to be scared to fly, she knew how Christen got when she was scared.

She offered her the cup of coffee and sat next to her friend, gently rubbing her back. “It wasn’t your fault you know?”

Christen laughed bitterly, rolling her eyes. “I know it’s not my fault Kel, I didn’t force that man to grab her. If I had my way, we’d all be in Washington D.C. by now.” 

“I wasn’t talking about that Chris. I know you blame yourself for what went down between Alex and Tobin. That wasn’t your fault.” Kelley placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

\---

Finally, after another six hours of debriefings from the police and the TSA, the girls were all released. Aside from the fact that none of them were where they were supposed to be, in Emily Sonnet’s mind she was just happy that her crew had survived.

“Why don’t we all rent a car and go get some breakfast at a Denny’s,” Emily suggested, looking at the five other girls who all looked pissed off and dead on their feet. She was tired too, but her ever present bubbly personality was at the forefront. 

“Pass, I gotta figured out how to catch a flight back to Los Angeles,” Alex said moving away from the girls, to go conduct her call. The marks on her neck still looked angry, and all she wanted to do was go home. 

“I think we’re going to pass too, me and Press here are going to try and find a flight back to Georgia,” Kelley replied, she appreciated Emily’s optimism and happy go lucky nature, but she was tired and grumpy as well. 

“Wait you’re from Georgia? So am I, I knew there was something cool about you.” The news that Kelley was from the same state only made Emily more enthusiastic. The two girls quickly seemed to forget that there were other people in the room as they began to discuss their home state.

“You said you were going to Washington DC?” Ali turned around to look at Ashlyn, who was staring at her with a questioning gaze. 

Ali sighed and slowly nodded her head. “Yeah, it’s where my apartment is, but it’s late and there aren’t going to be many flights departing this for at least another five hours.”

“I could drive you there.” Ashlyn offered, still staring at her. 

Ali snorted and raised a brow. “Why would you do that?”

Ashlyn pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep herself from getting irritated with the stewardess. “Because I am bored and I owe you one for keeping you away from your bed. I was rude to you and I am just trying to make up for it, but maybe I shouldn’t.”

“You got suspended, didn’t you? For shooting somebody and killing them?” Ali knew better than to just blindly trust somebody offering her a ride. 

"It was justified, and yes I did get suspended pending an investigation," Ashlyn replied, not liking how smug Ali looked in response to being right.

“I could give all of you a ride!” Emily announced looking excited. “I could drive Ali and Ashlyn to Washington DC, then Ashlyn could catch a plane to wherever she wants to go. Then I could turn around and drive Kelley and Christen to Georgia, and I suppose I could drop Alex off somewhere along the way.”

“That’s stupid!” Alex snapped having overheard the conversation. “You would be driving to one state, only to turn around, drive back through this one, just to go to a completely different state. You're delusional if you think I am gonna ride with her.” Alex threw a nod to Christen, not even trying to hide her hostility.

Emily crumpled at Alex’s use of the word stupid. She didn’t feel stupid, and she had just been trying to help. It seemed like this whole group had issues with each other and that wouldn’t be good if any of them had to work together again. 

“Don’t call her stupid.” Kelley defended, shaking her head at Alex. “Just because you’re angry that you got cheated on, doesn’t mean you get to take it out on Sonny or Christen.”

Alex recoiled, anger flashing behind her eyes. “Well maybe if your slut of a friend there wasn’t sleeping with half the airport then maybe I wouldn’t be in a bad mood.” Alex snapped.

Christen seemed to deflate at the insult, joining Emily in the group of people Alex had insulted in less than a minute. 

Kelley was pissed off now and got up ready to go to blows with Alex, who seemed just as ready. Thankfully both Ashlyn and Ali got in the middle, breaking it up. Ashlyn pulled Alex away, trying to calm her down, while Ali tried to reason with Kelley. 

“You know what? You’re all acting like childish adults, act your ages for fuck sake.” Emily’s calm had slipped and now she was irritated as well. “We’re all going to go to a hotel and sleep off our issues. Then tomorrow all of us are getting in a fucking car and I am going to drive us to where we need to go.”

Five other heads turned to look at Emily, surprised to see the girl had lost her cool. 

“Sonny, you can’t make us go on a trip together. It’s not going to work.” Ali interjected, unsure of why the younger girl had thought she could make them work together.

Sonny had seen enough of them fighting. “Do you guys know who owns the airlines that you all work for? Peter Sonnett and that would be my father. So welcome to an undercover boss Emily Sonnett edition. You all are failing with flying colors. Now if you expect to keep your jobs, I would suggest that you stop fighting amongst yourselves and listen to me when I tell you what to do.” 

Emily could see the shock on all of their faces with her little reveal. She didn’t tend to play the family card, but she had enough of them fighting. In a way, they all worked for her, now that they knew that, she hoped they’d show more respect for her and each other. She was tired of people underestimating her and treating her like shit for being so young.

Christen sighed softly and looked at the other girls. She had a feeling this little road trip of Emily’s wasn’t going to be as fun as it sounded. As she watched Alex give in to what Emily had said, she knew that she’d at least have a chance to explain her side to Alex, without the girl being able to run away. 

Emily waited as the five other girls slowly turned and gathered their stuff. There was a lot of team building that needed to happen in the amount of time it took Emily to drive them to where they all needed to be. She had faith though, this was going to be her pet project to get all the piece of her machine working together smoothly. 

"Now come on and let's go," Emily announced as she took the lead, heading to check out an SUV that would carry all of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody is a lot more damaged than you think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the latest chapter. I know shocking, I was in the mood to write so I did. Also, welcome to a story where they are all kind of fucked up in their own way. The world can be a cruel place and they're kind of having to sort through the jagged pieces. 
> 
> Come hit me up on Tumblr and talk about this au with me @Krashlynpride
> 
> also, the title of the story is based on the Gilmore Girl's theme song. 
> 
> -Becks

The drive towards the hotel was a quiet one, most members of the group refused to speak to each other. Emily was driving with Alex in the front passenger seat, Ali and Ashlyn were in the middle seat trying to be as far away from each other as they could, and Kelley had decided to take the very back two seats with Press. They had all piled in like that, separating themselves in their tiny little groups.

Honestly, Emily thought they were all being super ridiculous, but it was better to keep the main combatants separated so they wouldn’t kill each other. She honestly had a feeling that Alex might actually kill Christen if she had the chance, but she felt like they needed to work it out. Plus Ashlyn kept tugging on her seatbelt and checking the lock on the door every few seconds as if she was debating on whether or not to jump out on the freeway and make a run for it.

“So I was thinking that I can get us three rooms. I have a gut feeling that everybody needs to sleep.” Emily mused, finally breaking the silence. She had never done all that great with silence, and she wanted to make friends. She glanced at Kelley a little smile on her face, she was looking forward to using this trip to bond with the girl.“Kelley, you’ll be rooming with me, Ashlyn you’ll be rooming with Ali, and Press will be rooming with Mor-”

Before Emily could even finish her sentence, the others in the car were protesting. It was like the five other passengers were trying to out do each other, and be the loudest one in the car.

“I refuse to room with Press, I swear to god I’ll kill her,” Alex growled, her eyes dark as she stared at Emily. "There is no way in hell I am going to sleep in the same room as her."

“Alex, if you hurt Press, I’ll hurt you,” Kelley warned, placing a hand comfortingly on Christen’s shoulder. She mumbled soft soothing words to Press, trying to calm her down. She didn't want to see her best friend get hurt, and she felt like Press had been through enough.

Press wasn't looking so thrilled about the idea of being put into the same room as Alex. She was more than a little intimidated by the angry girl, she didn't want to be stuck in an awkward situation. "Sonny, I really don't think this is a good idea. I would rather room with somebody else."

“If Alex is so set on murdering Press, you might as well put her with Ashlyn, let the two murderers conspire,” Ali remarked bitterly, tired of being in the car with the rest of the idiots. She was overly tired and grumpy and she didn't want to room with Ashlyn. She felt like the girl had a bit of a screw loose. 

Ashlyn glanced up at the mention of her name, her knuckles turning white as she clutched to the door handle. "I am not a murderer, I was just trying to save Alex's life. Take it back." Ashlyn's was starting to raise her voice.

Alex could see that Ashlyn was getting upset. "Ali, you need to take it back, don't make her mad."

"Why should I?" Ali shook her head, scoffing at her fellow stewardess' words. "She did murder that man, she is there for a murderer." She stated as if pointing out a simple truth. "She is the whole reason we're in this mess in the first place."

That only seemed to set Ashlyn off, her eyes widening in panic. "I said take it back!" She snapped, her breathing coming out in fast pants

Kelley reached up between Ashlyn and Ali, trying to restrain Ashlyn from lunging and beating the crap out of Ali. "Press help me." She called, knowing that Ashlyn was probably about to have a panic attack or a melt down of some sort.

"That is it!" Emily roared as she pulled the car over, feeling much like an angry parent. She turned to glare at them and shook her head. “You guys are so irritating you know that? You fight like a bunch of two-year-olds. I get that you may have issues with other people in the car, but suck it the fuck up. I am done with your shit guys.” Once more the happy go lucky disposition was gone.

Sonny was angry with them, this was not the type of people she wanted working for her family’s company. Threatening to murder each other, and fighting like cats and dogs. It was giving her anxiety, and it made her frustrated. If they kept going at it like they were, Ashlyn wouldn't be the only one having a panic attack.

“Everybody has issues okay? You can either get your shit together or you can get out of the car and find your own way home.” Satisfied that she had made her point, Sonny resumed driving. 

Finally twenty minutes later they were at the hotel and being given their keys. Sonny advised them to get some sleep, before gesturing for Kelley to follow her up to their floor. 

Kelley started to follow but stopped in front of Press. She placed her hands on her friend’s shoulders, before giving her a hug. “It’s going to be okay Press, we’ll survive this trip together okay? If you need anything just call me. I’ll come back super quick.” She promised softly. 

Shooting one last dirty look at Alex, Kelley followed Emily up to their floor. Kelley was a little unsure of the girl, she had seen the girl’s happy side and now she had seen her angry side. She wasn’t sure what to expect with her now that they were alone. 

Emily unlocked the door to their room and walked inside. She nodded to the two beds before she yawned. “Go ahead and pick what bed you want, I am going to get changed into my pajamas.” 

Kelley seemed unsure but picked the bed closest to the door, in case she needed to make a quick escape. “You know Sonnett, you’re really scary when you’re angry.” 

There was some shuffling in the bathroom as Emily changed, and Kelley was almost positive Emily hadn’t even heard her until the blonde girl came out of the bathroom. 

“I am sorry for scaring you,” Emily spoke softly, almost as if she was trying to make herself smaller somehow. 

Watching the young pilot, Kelley felt something tug at her heart. The girl seemed lost and Kelley knew what that felt like. Kelley understood that more than most people did, she had dropped out of college and left a full ride scholarship to become an Air Marshal. 

“Do you want to talk about it? The angry feelings?” Kelley wouldn’t push her, but she wanted to be there to help the girl if she could. 

Emily was again silent for a few minutes, before sitting down on the bed that was unclaimed. “I am the daughter of Peter Sonnett, he owns so many businesses and has more money than he knows what to do with. He always had to be in control, he’s a great man, but control was his thing. If he lost control, then you were in for it.” Emily sighed and laid down under the blankets. She didn’t want to be like her father, always yelling to be heard. 

“Why did you become a pilot Emily?” Kelley asked softly.

Sonny actually cracked a little bit of a smile at that. “Because I felt in control and weightless at the same time. Flying a plane whether it’s a commercial plane or a little two-seater, it’s freeing. I get to go to places I’ve never seen and meet people who all have interesting stories. Plus I wanted to make my dad proud, I thought maybe he'd pay more attention if I was actually good at something.” That, of course, hadn't been the case for Emily. Still flying was something that she had learned to love for herself. Flying had always been a source of comfort for her, but now it was the happiest place in the world for Emily.

Kelley laid down in her own bed and stared up at the ceiling. “I think you’re a great pilot. You have a real gift Em, don't worry about your dad okay? He should be proud of you. ” She gave an encouraging smile to her friend. “I know what it’s like to want to find the place where you fit,” Kelley admitted sheepishly.

“Is that why you became an Air Marshal?” Emily wasn’t judging, but she was curious about Kelley. She knew she could read the girl’s file, but a piece of paper wouldn’t tell her who the girl was at her core. She wanted to peel back the layers and get to know who Kelley was at the very deepest part of herself. 

Tensing at the question, Kelley shook her head. “I don’t really want to talk about that right now, maybe another time okay?” She was hoping that the blonde wouldn’t push it and was relieved when Emily just hummed and let it go. 

It was hard to talk about why she had left college. Kelley felt like she had left for good reasons, she had been a rising star with the world at her fingertips and then she had traded it all. She had left a promising career to go train her ass off to become a government worker and a United States Air Marshal. A lot of things had happened in Kelley’s life and she just wanted to be in control of one thing. She was gifted sure, but her athletic talents weren’t going to fix the brokenness inside of her. She had needed a purpose and protecting people had given her that purpose. 

“Get some sleep, O’Hara.” 

“Yeah, I will, good night Sonny.” Kelley closed her eyes and hoped sleep would overtake her quickly.

\---  
“What bed do you want?” 

It took Christen a whole minute to realize that Alex was actually speaking to her. “Excuse me?”

Alex had to fight hard not to roll her eyes. “I said what bed do you want?” There were more cutting remarks on the tip of the girl’s tongue, but she fought to control them. Right now was not the time to get into a fight. Besides Alex didn’t want to gain any more angry speeches from Emily. 

Christen nodded to the bed by the window but then hesitated. If Alex was actually going to try and kill her, then being closest to the door and away from the window was better. She didn’t want to give Alex the chance to push her out the window or off the balcony into the courtyard below. 

“I want the bed by the door if that’s okay?” Christen wasn’t sure what Alex was thinking, but she carefully crossed in front of Alex and hurried to her side of the room. 

Alex didn’t fight the eye roll this time. “I’m not actually going to kill you. I am just mad.” She muttered, moving to put her stuff down on the bed opposite from Christen’s.

“I would never have guessed you were mad at me. What a shocker!” Christen mumbled sarcastically, before clamping a hand over her mouth.

Alex snorted, but a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but then she remembered who she was talking to and the smile turned into a frown. “You make it hard to hate you Press.”

Chris’ face softened, her heart breaking a little for Alex. “Maybe you don’t have to hate me. Honestly, Alex, I know you don’t believe me, but I didn’t know.”

“There were pictures of us in the house.” Alex pointed out, she didn’t want to believe Christen. She wanted to blame somebody, just blaming Tobin wasn’t cutting it for her. 

“She told me you guys were just best friends. I made a mistake Alex, and I am sorry.” If she needed to, Christen was willing to get down on her knees and beg. 

“You’re only sorry you got caught, what do you want me to do with that? You continuing to say you’re sorry doesn’t fix anything, you think that it fixes anything? What am I supposed to forgive you and absolve you of your sin? You fucked up a relationship Christen, you’re the other woman.” Alex knew her anger was misplaced, but it was easier to take it out on the girl in front of her than Tobin.

God, Tobin made it so difficult to even look at her. Every time Alex saw the girl, she wanted to throttle her. It wasn’t fair that Tobin got to walk around and pretend things were chill, while Alex’s heart lay shattered on the floor 

Christen knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere arguing with Alex. If it made the girl feel better to blame her, then there was nothing she could do about it. Christen turned her back to Alex and laid down. She was done with the fighting, and she wasn’t going to let the girl make her a verbal punching bag. 

“So that’s it? You’re just going to give up?” Alex asked, realizing that Christen wasn’t going to fight with her. 

“Why should I fight back Alex? You’re right I am the other woman, I fucked up your relationship and nothing I am gonna say will make it better. What purpose does it serve me to fight with you?” Christen was done trying to fight with her. She was done apologizing, she wouldn’t be Alex’s scapegoat.

Alex was silent for so long that Christen thought she had fallen asleep, but quietly she could just make out the girl crying. Christen could feel her guilt gnawing at her, even though she tried to push it down. 

“She didn’t love you, Alex,” Christen said, and only when she heard Alex start to cry harder she realized how the girl had taken her words. 

“I love her though.” Alex protested, her voice full of emotion. Alex had thought Tobin was her world, and it was clear to her now that Tobin didn’t give a shit about her. 

Christen sighed and slowly moved over to Alex’s bed. She knew she’d probably get hit for what she was about to do, but slowly she pulled Alex into her arms and just hugged her. She felt Alex tense up in her arms, then relax and just dissolved into heartbreaking sobs. 

Christen tried to comfort her the best that she could, hating to see people sad and broken. “She didn’t love you, Alex, because if she had she would have never broken your heart. You deserve better than somebody who is only going to hurt you. You are beautiful and intelligent, perhaps mildly intimidating, never the less, you deserve love. If I had Tobin, I would have picked you in a heartbeat. You have a smile that melts heart Alex, it’s never been directed my way but I’ve seen it. I am sorry that I was an accomplice to somebody hurting you, I truly am.” 

Alex sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I forgive you if you can forgive me for being mean to you. I said some really crappy things.” Alex felt guilty for that. Here Christen was trying to comfort her, after all the bitchy comments she had made, and the threats to kill her. 

“Yeah I can forgive you Alex. I mean if I had to die, dying by a pretty girl’s hand isn’t the worst way to go.” Press joked, finally earning a little smile from Alex. “See there we go, there’s that beautiful smile. Now, why don’t you lay down and get some sleep, it’s been a long day.”

Alex nodded and pulled the covers up to her chin. She closed her eyes, waiting for Press to get into her own bed before calling out to her. “Thank you, Christen, good night.”

“Good night Alex.”   
\---

Ashlyn and Ali were not as lucky as the others, Ali was still grumpy as hell and wanted to sleep. Ashlyn was just trying to get her luggage in the room and inspect the room for any hidden bugs or cameras. 

“Can you please just lay down?” Ali grumbled, watching as for the third time in a span of an hour Ashlyn got up to do a sweep of the room. Ali watched as Ashlyn ignored her and went through the room, touching random stuff a couple of times and then checking the lock on the door five more times. 

The clicking and unclicking of the lock was starting to drive Ali insane and she was sure she was probably going to smother the girl in her sleep. 

“Ashlyn I swear, if you don’t lay down I am go-”

Ashlyn glanced at her, her eyebrows furrowed. “I can’t help it okay? I know you’re tired but the last time I didn’t check the door like I was supposed to people died. So just back off and let me check the door. I am sorry if I am bothering you, I am not trying to. I just have to check, I need to be sure.” 

Ali sat up, her eyes filled with confusion. “What are you talking about?” 

Ashlyn grimaced, grinding her teeth for a moment as she turned away from Ali and went back to check the lock on the door. She deadbolted it and then moved to check the window to the hotel room and the sliding glass door. Satisfied that they were secured, she moved to sit on the edge of her own bed. 

“Ashlyn, what’s wrong with you?” Ali asked, her voice a lot softer now. She was wondering if perhaps the girl was going through shock, realizing that she had actually killed the man on the plane. 

Tugging a hand through her hair, the senior Air Marshal looked exhausted. “I am a good soldier Ali, I mean I was made for my job okay? I was made for it, there are bad people in the world Ali. I just try to keep people safe. Nobody understands it, all they do is judge me a villain. They don't know the whole story, Ali. I am not a bad guy.” 

Ali was confused as to what was going on but didn’t push. She watched as Ashlyn played with the bedside lamp, flicking it on and off a few times as if checking it for bugs. Finally, the girl flicked it off and laid still. 

Ali tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of her gut. Perhaps there was more to the other girl, she could see that Ashlyn was clearly struggling but didn’t know what to say. 

“You did what you had to do on the plane. I am sorry for calling you a killer.” Ali called out into the darkness of the room. 

Ash shifted on the bed, laying on her side to stare at Ali’s form or at least what she could make of it, in the darkness. “I didn’t want to lose another one.” 

“Another one?” 

“Another innocent person,” Ash replied, her body shivering despite the warm temperature of the room. “Everybody is fucked up Ali, everybody has a little piece of them broken in this life, it’s just sometimes the cracks and chips are easier to see than others.” There was a lot of pain in the girl's voice, pain that hinted at a backstory. It didn't seem like Ash was willing to share that much of it with Ali yet. 

Ali frowned, waiting for Ashlyn to continue talking. When the girl didn’t, Ali assumed she fell asleep. It took her about an hour, but finally, sleep came for Ali as well.


End file.
